Tagged with poverty …

Aug 14 2012
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art and photography, poems, Quotes

reminder of a better way

 

We are a people of privilege and entitlement.
We are among the haves––
we have education,
connections,
power,
and wealth.
Too often we are indulgent and self-sufficient consumers.
We speak of our achievements and accomplishments.
Sometimes we offer God liturgies of disregard,
litanies of selves made too big.
But we hear faint reminders of
a better way.

+ W. Brueggeman, “Well Arranged Lives”
from Prayers for a Privileged People

 

MORE FROM BRUEGGEMAN
In remembering and in hoping
Catch us up into reality
on most days, a hard mix

 

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Jul 14 2012
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poems, Quotes

half ready. half afraid.

We watch as the jets fly in with the power people and the money people, the suits, the budgets, the billions.

We wonder about monetary policy because we are among the haves, and about generosity because we care about the have-nots.

By slower modes we notice Lazarus and the poor arriving from Africa, and the beggars from Central Europe, and the throng of environmentalists with their vision of butterflies and oil of flowers and tanks of growing things and killing fields.

We wonder about peace and war, about ecology and development, about hope and entitlement.

We listen beyond jeering protesters and soaring jets and faintly we hear the mumbling of the crucified one, something about feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty, about clothing the naked, and noticing the prisoners, more about the least and about holiness among them.

We are moved by the mumbles of the gospel, even while we are tenured in our privilege.

We are half ready to join the choir of hope, half afraid things might change, and in a third half of our faith turning to you, and your outpouring love that works justice and that binds us each and all to one another.

So we pray amid jeering protesters and soaring jets. Come by here and make new, even at risk to our entitlements.

+ Walter Brueggeman, “The Noise of Politics”
from Prayers for a Privileged People 

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Jul 02 2012
2 Comments
on, poems

compared with the task | on luke 4

the sharp contrast of common ambition
compared with the task of announcing the kingdom:

I’ll give you a feast;
I’m here to tell the poor their day has come.
I’ll give you authority and prestige and power;
I’m here to talk about letting the jailbirds loose.
I’ll prove you can do whatever you want and still be safe;
I’m here to announce the time has come
for those on the bottom,
for those who are poor,
for those who are blind,
for those who have been victimized,
for those who have victimized,
it is the time for God to make them his favorites.

The sharp contrast of common intention
compared with the task of announcing the kingdom:

he rolled the scroll back up and sat down.
“Today, you are watching it happen…”

djordan
Pine Tree

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Apr 22 2012
3 Comments
learning to live, poems, what they are teaching me

fear of the weak among us

the weak, ill, addicted, crazy, poor, uneducated among us

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Apr 21 2012
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weekly mash

lick the elevator, pregnant at VBS | weekly mash | 04.21.2012

Here they are! From Vacation Bible School pregnancies to edible elevators, from neurology in Pre-K to CEOs in gang recovery programs, here are the articles, thoughts, essays and ideas that I’ve been thinking and stewing over this week. Enjoy, and let me know what you think about the articles!

Education and Apartheid in the USA | www.good.is

We are way past the civil rights era, right? And we say “What a shame” about Apartheid because we would never behave in such a way, right? Take a look at the details behind education for the poor in the USA.

CEO Rehabbed in Anti-Gang Program | www.fastcoexist.com

Homeboy Indsutries and Homegirl Industries in California is one of the few anti-gang groups making progress. To get out of the gang-life, there has to be something worth going into, like Homeboy Industries. See why ARM watches Homeboy as we plan for The HUB Club, and see how it helps meet gangbangers and CEOs.

Food or Medicine: Between a Rock and a Hard Place | The Global Journal

It’s one thing to argue about healthcare with terms we learned from magazine news shows; it’s another to think about having to choose between food or medicine. And then to know the choice is made by people every day, people very close to home, adds an element of at least valuing the conversation.

Bringing Kids’ Art to Life | www.denydesigns.com

Every kids’ dream come true… real-life versions of their very own drawings. Yes, please!

Teen Pregnancy Down Except for the Bible Belt | www.theatlanticcities.com

Across the nation, teen pregnancy is down, except for those states in the Bible Belt where to get pregnant as a teenager is a huge scarlet “P” for the rest of your life. What makes the difference, and why should the church be paying attention to its ways of being in the world?

Ever Licked an Elevator Advertisement? | www.foodrepublic.com

I don’t even know what to say. I’m equally intrigued by the grossness and the coolness of this London-based advertisement experiment. One thing to make time in an elevator with others just a little more awkward.

Making Education Brain Science | www.nytimes.com

Think little kids are only learning about blues and reds? Think again! The Blue School is teaching kids to think about HOW they think, teaching them how to observe their own thought, emotion, and learning processes…something most of us wait until far too late to do. Way coolness.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

National Archives (England’s) Release Colonial Papers including Obama’s Father, son of Revolutionary

Magnificent Maps: Cartography as Power, Propaganda, and Art

So what do you think?

djordan
Pine Tree

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Mar 31 2012
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weekly mash

weekly mash | 03.31.12

A few of the news articles, essays, and issues I’ve been thinking over this week. Enjoy.

The 2012 Top 100 Non-Profits

I noticed that an organization, Partners in Health, who follows great practice standards and is working hard to prevent and minimize ongoing harm in Haiti done by charity workers, is listed as number 2. It makes me proud of them, and makes the kinds of concepts from “When Helping Hurts” all the more important for all of our non-profits, whether faith-based or not.

The Real Boundaries of the Bible Belt

While it shouldn’t be surprising, it is very interesting that the borders of the Bible Belt that stretch across the southeastern US (and notch over enough to get Utah) have a lot to do with the distribution of education and wealth.

Creativity and the Need for Multiple Outlets

As a child, my parents stopped trying to prevent me from making a mess in my room with paint, clay, markers and …the deadliest, scotch tape. The ended up ripping the carpet up and putting down tile so that ultimately the room could just be hosed down after I was done experimenting. Here’s to letting all surfaces be fair-game for craft time.

Where do your tax dollars go?

Type in your yearly income, and watch the pie chart fill up with what happens to your tax dollars…fascinating!

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